Italian Festival

My friend, Beth, invited the boys and I to join her at the Italian Festival in Tampa today. It was a lot of fun with good food and some really delicious drinks. The boys were too overloaded and tired so they were really good. Here are some pictures from the day:

Cameron and I at Beth's before heading over


At the festival


After a long, fun day

A fun filled day

So much to do, so little time! When Mike got home from work this morning, he started doing laundry. Cameron really wanted to be included.





Then we went to Jackie & Efrain's house.

A family photo


Nana with her O boys


Efrain and Kaylie


Then we headed to the park to play. The purple dinosaur was everyone's favorite.




Here Connor's pointing out the dinosaur's big teeth


Cameron was actually sick today but was a trooper for most of the day but started getting cranky at the park. But after a nap, we met up with Nana to go to another park!



Connor had so much fun running down the boardwalks. Here he's pointing to something interesting.


Cameron taking a break looking cute as ever


Connor giving Nana kisses


What a fun day!

My little sponges

Today, Ms. Delsa was not at school and her substitute, Ms. Olga, was there. Ms. Olga speaks some English which is really cool because today she told me the boys really are speaking Spanish now and understand the things she tells them. She said that they can count but they would not cooperate when she tried to show me. Then she showed me the juice jug and told me that when they see it, they say "jugo" for juice.

After we left and had been driving for a little bit, I asked the boys if they wanted to count and then said "uno" to which they responded "dos" and then, as I was saying "tres" they were saying "cuatro." We counted to five/cinco a few times but they always said "dos" followed by "cuatro." It was very cute!

This was followed by Connor's realization this past weekend that he could say si for yes. Previously, for Connor to say yes, he has to think really hard to shake his head up and down. I've tried verbalizing "yeah" for him thinking that may be easier to say but it wasn't working. Then at one point on Saturday, I asked him something and he said si. Sweet! Our boys can communicate with us! Cameron shakes his head yes for us. Also, both boys say "apple" when they want juice at home (all juices are apple juice in their minds). Mike and I were joking this weekend that we'd have to learn Spanish to communicate with the boys but I think they're just going to learn both in their own ways. It's still the most amazing thing to me.

We stopped by my parents' on the way home today. Once we got settled, I asked the boys if they wanted jugo. Cameron repeated jugo and Connor said si. Too cute!

Happy Easter!

Today was so much fun! We had prepared Easter baskets for the boys. They were very plain and only had one small stuffed bunny and two eggs each but you would have thought the boys had just been given the biggest treasures. I had put one in the corner of each couch and when I got the boys up, told them the Easter Bunny had been here. They found their baskets while I was removing some stinky diapers from the house. When I returned, they had decided which basket was theirs, or more specifically, which bunny was theirs. Connor had the football bunny and Cameron had the soccer ball bunny. When I tried to separate the boys from their baskets to get them dressed, it was quite the commotion. We had to take the bunnies with us. Then, having breakfast was a real trick. I ended up putting each boy's bunny directly in front of him on our kitchen table but out of their reach so they'd stay clean. They just were NOT going to eat without their bunnies, which they promptly nicknamed "ma ma." I'm not sure why they aren't attempting to say bunny. It seems like they should be able to make out that word but they BOTH decided their bunny was "ma ma" and that's it. They aren't even attempting to call them anything else.

Later in the morning, after Mike returned from his parent's (dropping off the Easter eggs I'd made for them to "hide") we all went to see Nana, Grandpa and (great) Granny. There we explained to the boys that the eggs they find go in their baskets. It was very serious business. There was no smiling or laughing they were so intent on trying to comprehend what was going on and get the eggs into the baskets. They are so cute that way. When they are in a new environment or learning something new, there are no smiles from Connor and very few from Cameron. They are too busy concentrating on learning the new thing. Once the location/person/task is old news, they are so fun loving and playful. Once the eggs were all located and each one opened, they proceeded to play as usual. Well, almost as usual. Cameron had to be holding his bunny and Connor insisted on carrying the basket with the bunny in it. Too funny!

The boys with their baskets


Cameron showing his bunny's ball


Connor pointing to his bunny's football


When Connor does NOT want to share

Family visiting

The past couple of weeks have been pretty neat. The boys' great grandpa stayed with my parents for a couple of weeks and my aunt Kim and uncle Jon also stopped by to visit. It was so great seeing them all!

Kim, Jon, Erin & Great Grandpa




Jackie with Kaylie & Cameron playing on G. Grandpa's chair


Here Grandpa's getting in on the action


G.Grandpa, Nana & Kaylie

* The cool panel picture behind G.Grandpa is one we got for my parents while we were in Vietnam *

Cameron flashing his charming smile



This is a very common predicament for my mom. Both boys always want Nana to hold them.

21 month update

I can't believe my boys are almost two! It seems like just yesterday I was WISHING they could just walk so they wouldn't be so needy. I see now that walking does not necessarily cure that neediness.

The boys are doing amazing. They are still a little on the small size. They are about the same weight and Connor is still taller. Nana Warren bought them matching 12 month pants for the winter which fit both boys well until, I swear, last week when they suddenly became high-waters for Connor. They fit Cameron perfectly. I can't believe they grow so fast!

The boys are both acquiring new words at a dizzying rate as well. I know they are picking up new words with me all the time. One of the funniest ones for me is "Oh no!" This is one of the first things they say in the morning since the boys like to throw every.single.thing in their crib out either before they go to sleep for the night or upon waking before we get them up and out of their cribs. When I come in to get them, I always turn on the light (after warning, "Bright Light! Bright Light!" which is their signal to shield their eyes) and then, upon seeing the mounds of stuffed animals and blankets in front of their cribs, will stretch out my arms and say "Oh no! What happened?" Now, after I turn on the lights, both boys will lean out of their cribs with their arms outstretched and say "Oh no!" Seriously, it cracks me up! It's SO cute!

Which leads into the next cutest thing they do that Mike and I both L O V E. They totally cannot stand anything dirty. If their hands get dirty playing or eating, they will hold the dirty hand out as if disgusted saying "dee dee" for dirty. They are not happy until the offending hand is cleaned. However, if you tell them it is okay, you will clean it when they are done, they will continue playing/eating without concern. This offense of dirty applies to everything! Last Saturday, Cameron kept pointing to things on their bedroom carpet shouting "EW! Dee Dee! Dee Dee!" until I would pick it up. I finally put both boys in their cribs to vaccuum. They were both quite relieved I got all the Dee Dee up! Then I showed them the vacuum canister to which we all shouted "Ew! Dirty!" SO funny! Seriously, this must be a learned trait. Mike and I both have our own clean fetishes and both boys are picking up on them. Mine is the dirty fetish - dirty hands, little things on the floor. Mike's is the messes - things have to be put away. Both guys totally get this and help to clean them up. It is ADORABLE! In this same train of thought, they also know that dirty dishes go in the kitchen sink, used toothbrushes (and hair items) go in the bathroom sink, anything dirty or labled garbage goes in the trach can (primarily the kitchen garbage which, in our house, is a drawer that they open, put the item into and close). They do get a little carried away throwing cups they are still drinking from into the sink and toys they like into the garbage but, for the most part, they are right on in getting the correct item into the correct room and recepticle. It's great. I hear they are very good at this at school too.

Which leads to my next observation of the boys. Mike and I only speak English. Well, Mike's fluent in French but doesn't speak it at home since none of us would know what he's saying. We can ask the boys to do almost anything now and they will do it. Sometimes, they either won't because they do not want to or, occassionally because they just don't understand the request. When they don't want to, they say no or just ignore us. When they don't understand, they will pause and listen but can't react. You can definitely tell which situation is going on. Cameron opts to ignore us more so I think sometimes he actually doesn't understand so he just ignores us rather than try to think about it. Connor is our contemplative boy and he will really sit there trying to figure out what we're saying. He'll use trial and error trying to get to what we want which is really so sweet. Anyway, watching the boys I know how they deal with our requests and how compliant they typically are to do what we ask. I know at school their teacher only speaks Spanish and I know she's always saying (through the owner's translation to me) how smart they are - especially Cameron. Today, I asked how they are at following directions. I know if someone asked me to do even the simplest task in Spanish, I would be almost completely clueless. The boys, however, normally do what their teacher asks. I find this utterly amazing! They have only been in this environment for 4.5 months and they can follow simple requests in two completely different languages! Amazing! They also understand that things have two names. For example, they can identify the parts of the face in both English and Spanish. I can ask them where my mouth or boca is and they will point to my mouth. Ditto for nose/nariz, hair/pelo, and eye/ojo. They will talk about their zapatos (typically pronounced with way too many sylables like "za pa ta pa mos") usually indicating they they have untied their shoes or taken them off. However, when I ask them to get their shoes, they will get their matching tennis shoes (they have different shoes since Connor has gratuated to the next size up while Cameron's still in the smaller shoes). AND, if I tell them to get their sandals, they will get their own matching sandals. They will refer to any shoes as zapatos. I find this pretty amazing for practically babies. AND they know that their socks are not zapatos and will get socks separately as requested. They know that water and agua are the same thing. When their teacher asks for besitos, they will give her kisses. When Mike or I ask for kisses, they will give us kisses (or say "no"). Cameron also is very adept at getting Baby Tad to give us kisses if I ask him to. Sorry to ramble on with all these details but I really find this absolutely fascinating. Both boys verbal skills are amazing. They try to say all kinds of stuff but since they can't make f, g, k, and v sounds some words are almost impossible to make out. Both boys know that when they want something, they should say "please" which they've just recently begun attempting to verbalize along with the sign for it. They are now working on Thank You - sign only. That one may be confusing a little since it's the same as blowing a kiss which they've been doing for so long. Although I've noticed that they don't make the "mwah" sound like you do to blow a kiss when they are saying thank you so I think they are getting that too. I think "Por Favor" and "Gracias" would be lost causes at this point in their vocal development. Cameron is faster and louder with his vocal responses. If you ask a question, he will answer it before Connor. Sometimes, I have to ask it a few times so Connor has a chance to respond. However, this should not be interpretted as Connor being slower than Cameron. I believe he's just more reserved. Connor has been able to follow complex requests for some time now while Cameron is just now starting to grasp them. Connor also made a complete sentance yesterday. I couldn't believe it! He went slowly but said "More (verbally and with hand sign)... cracker... please (verbally this sounds like "peas" and he included the hand sign)... mommy." Wow! This is going to be cool! Too bad the melt downs don't come with some explanation yet! And, this weekend, we realized the Cameron has a nickname for Connor - Da Da! How cute is that?! This has been tested several times now just to make sure we weren't imagining things. Daddy is Daddy. Mommy is Mommy. My sister, Jackie, is Ti Ti (Puerto Rican term for Aunt). Nana is Nana. Grandpa is something that sounds like "pwa pa" and Connor is Da Da. Connor has not created a name for Cameron yet (that we know of). They both have to think really hard when we ask where Cameron or Connor is. I think they get themselves confused since we get their names confused so often! That's terrible, I know!

Other than being on the smaller side of the scale, they are doing great developmentally. They run, jump (almost), walk up stairs, walk down stairs (sometimes without tripping), and climb. They climb everything. Recently, I've had to tell them that they can't climb drawers. Thankfully, they haven't yet attempted to climb out of their cribs. We really need them to stay in those for a while longer. They still stuggle to use a fork or spoon and often prefer to eat with their hands. At least they are fully capable of getting food into their mouths using a utensil. They have great appetites and will try anything. Some days they are ravenous and others they will just pick at their food. There is nothing they consistently refuse to eat and they still love bananas although a little less than their prior insistent requests for them at any meal or snack time (that was especially true for Connor). Now, they still enjoy them and have them almost every morning but it's not as constant of a request.

The boys are a joy to be around when they are happy. They are so playful and fun. They love to hide from you and especially to be chased. They will give hugs randomly as inspired and as a way to say they're sorry. Connor is friendly by saying hi and bye to people but if they try to pick him up, he will throw a complete fit. Cameron is still incredibly friendly but still prefers for me to hold him rather than anyone else. Except my mom. Both boys HAVE to have their Nana. It's really something. She must get exhausted when she's with them since they are as demanding of her time now as they were of my time earlier. Both want her to hold them and at the same time and no one else, myself included, will do.